France election: Nicolas Sarkozy says he is quitting politics for good

Nicolas Sarkozy is quitting politics for good, he told aides on Monday, as
friends worried that the backlash from his divorce with the French would be
worse than his split with his second wife Cécilia.

On Monday Nicolas Sarkozy told heads of his UMP party: 'A page is turning for me. I won't be candidate in legislative elections, nor in any elections to come'Photo: AFP

His withdrawal from front-line politics however leaves a gaping hole in the French Right just weeks ahead of legislative elections in which his party stands to suffer major losses.

Mr Sarkozy became only the second French president to fail to be re-elected on Sunday night, with final results giving Socialist François Hollande, his rival, a slim victory of 51.62 per cent of the vote, or 1.13 million more of the 37 million ballots cast.

On Monday he told heads of his UMP party: "A page is turning for me. I won't be candidate in legislative elections, nor in any elections to come".

"I love life too much to be bitter," Mr Sarkozy said, adding that "our failure was not a humiliation, as the polls had predicted ... We were not far off."

He said that he would leave the presidency "tomorrow" if he could but that he had to "respect tradition", waiting a few days before handing over power.

Brice Hortefeux, his former interior minister and old friend said: "Nicolas is exhausted."

The prospect of a new life for Mr Sarkozy was reportedly welcomed by his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy who has publicly fretted her husband was "working himself to death."

Others worried that the sudden drop in the workaholic leader's gruelling schedule could be disastrous for his mental wellbeing, in particular when it sinks in that his defeat was as much to do with French rejection of his personality as his politics.

"It's an ordeal," a friend told Le Parisien. "The falling out of love of the French will be worse than his divorce with Cécilia (his second wife who he left him for her lover while in office). It wouldn't surprise me if he goes through a small depression," she said.

Alain Minc, one of his closest friends and advisers said he expected him to "do conferences like Tony Blair," referring to the former Prime Minister's lucrative after-dinner speaking circuit.

With a bitter leadership duel shaping up between UMP chief Jean-François Copé and Prime Minister François Fillon, the vanquished president warned his camp yesterday that a bloodbath before the June parliamentary ballot would be catastrophic for the Right.

The UMP risks seeing its parliamentary majority crumble in elections in June, as the Left reaps seats in the wake of its presidential victory. The UMP also faces stiff competition from the far-Right National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen came third in the presidential election with 18 per cent. Her party stands to win a handful of seats in June but could fatally sap support from the mainstream right in hundreds of constituencies.

Right-wingers warn that a Socialist majority would leave the Left with all the levers of power, as it already runs 21 out of 22 regions, a majority of town halls, and the Senate.

"By validating the National Front agenda, or giving the feeling of validating it, we lost points," said Chantal Jouanno, UMP senator, who blamed Mr Copé for encouraging the immigration and security bias.